Authorities at the Central University of Himachal Pradesh (CUHP) have ramped up the process to set up permanent campuses of the University at Dehra and Dharamshala, vice-chancellor (V-C) Prof Sat Praksash Bansal said on Wednesday.
In a press statement issued here, Prof Bansal said two 12-member teams have been formed by the CUHP to coordinate with departments concerned to speed up the process.
He said the land at Dehra has already been transferred in the name of CUHP. “We have asked the revenue department to demarcate the land at earliest so that construction work could begin,” he said.
The V-C said the CUHP has got a 115-hectare land at Dehra, of which 81 hectares are classified as forest land while 34 are non-forested land.
As far as the land identified at Jadrangal near Dharamshala is concerned, Prof Bansal said, the university authorities have held a meeting with the local administration and discussed the ongoing process regarding geological survey. “The local administration has sought the Director General of the Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, to conduct geological survey of the proposed forest land at Jadrangal,” he said.
He said a high-powered committee of the Union environment ministry had inspected the land in February 2021 and recommended that the administration conduct the geological survey on 280 hectares of forest land identified for CUHP campus at Jadrangal. “We are awaiting the report of the Geological Survey and if it is favourable, the construction work will start soon,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}He said a high-powered committee of the Union environment ministry had inspected the land in February 2021 and recommended that the administration conduct the geological survey on 280 hectares of forest land identified for CUHP campus at Jadrangal. “We are awaiting the report of the Geological Survey and if it is favourable, the construction work will start soon,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Sudhir Sharma slams Dharamshala BJP leaders
Meanwhile, former Congress minister Sudhir Sharma, in a statement, accused the BJP-led central and state governments of betraying the people of Dharamshala on the issue of CUHP.
Citing reports published in media, he said the state geological department has rejected the Jadrangal land for construction of CUHP campus. “People of Dharamshala are angry with the ruling BJP and its local leaders for continuously betraying them on the issue,” he said.
“When a cricket stadium and multi-storey buildings can come up in Dharmashala, why not the CUHP campus,” said Sharma. He said the CUHP was originally proposed to come up at Dharmashala but the BJP leaders bifurcated it for political gains.